Conan: I'm Really Not Tokyo Ghost Story

However, Sano was afraid of trouble and too lazy to actually check each one.

Furthermore, since Gin already had a certain level of trust in Ito Taka, Sano simply handed over the background checks on those puppets to him.

There's nothing wrong with Ito Taka's people, and there's nothing wrong with his abilities.

Then Ito Taka's puppets should naturally not have any problems either.

With this in mind, Gin didn't say anything more.

At this moment, this is undoubtedly Sano's best room for maneuver.

Ito Taka's smile remained unchanged for several seconds before he asked.

"Is there no room for negotiation?"

"No."

"Alright then, let's just consider it making friends."

Ito Taka slapped down a banknote: "I've already paid the bill... But I must remind you, whatever your purpose in joining the organization, if anything goes wrong later, I might have to protect myself."

"Of course, one thing at a time. My only requirement is to join the organization. Everything else is none of your business. In fact, if you make any mistakes in the future, I might even lend a hand because of what happened today... Just like you said, we're all friends."

Sano said this.

"Oh, then thank you in advance."

Ito Taka smiled and said, "So, how should I teach you about hypnosis?"

"Just take a picture and send it to that number."

"Okay, I'll be going now. I have a lot of work to do. Bye-bye."

"Bye-Bye."

But after taking only a couple of steps, Ito Taka suddenly turned back.

"What should I call you...? I need to make a note of it. It would be impolite if I saw you in private and was still calling you by a fake name I made up."

Sano paused for a moment, then pondered for a few seconds.

"fox".

"Fox?"

Ito Taka's gaze shifted and landed on the mask on Sano's head.

"I see, a fox."

"Do not."

Sano suddenly rejected the idea outright.

This left Ito Taka completely bewildered. He asked in confusion, "Fox is just the English word for fox, right? Oh, no, I've been hospitalized all my life and haven't received much education. Don't try to fool me, okay?"

"……no."

Sano twitched the corner of his mouth. Although he was speechless inside, his facial structure prevented him from showing any emotion. He said, "It's Black Fox."

"Black Fox?"

Ito Taka paused, then said, "Isn't that still a fox... You really like black?"

As he spoke, Ito Taka looked at Sano, who was almost entirely dressed in black.

"I don't particularly like it, but compared to other colors, black is definitely more to my liking. It has a kind of mysterious, chuunibyou vibe."

Sano said that... "Isn't that what I like the most?"

Ito Taka subtly frowned. What bothered him was Sano's particular emphasis on details, which made it seem as if he wanted to differentiate himself from... another fox, so as not to be confused.

Fox.

silver fox?

The name quickly popped into Ito Taka's mind.

The top assassin, who had long been famous in Japan, reappeared after disappearing for a period of time, and even joined the assassin team of Black Cat, a rising star in the Japanese professional assassin world.

Ito Taka, who has a wide circle of friends, is naturally quite knowledgeable in this regard.

These two people have such similar names, is there some connection between them?

With his thoughts racing, Ito Taka did nothing more than take his leave.

Sano watched Ito Taka's retreating figure.

...Ito Taka's earlier statement about the heavy workload was not an excuse.

When Sano said he wanted to increase Ito Taka's workload, it wasn't just a thought.

You could even say that...

The mastermind and culprit behind Ito Taka's inability to even visit his home more than a few times during this period.

That's Sano himself.

Of course, Sano's actions were not driven by any personal motives; he simply wanted Ito Taka to boost his performance so that he could be promoted from an outsider to a senior member as soon as possible.

After all, this guy has a pretty high opinion of Gin.

It's almost the same as what happened to Sano back then; being promoted to a cadre position is just a matter of time... Well, this is all for Ito Taka's bright future, and it's definitely not because of any personal grudges between the two of them.

Besides, what personal grudges could there be between neighbors?

Sano finished his coffee, then turned and dragged Ito Taka's untouched orange juice from across the table... He'd already paid, so he couldn't waste it.

After finishing his orange juice, Sano got up and left.

Chapter 527, 530, Inspector Megure: A new plague god—I mean, a new little brother—has appeared?

However, before he had gone far, Sano saw several police cars flashing red and blue lights speeding towards him, with Inspector Megure leading the team to the restroom.

Oh my, is this a case of everyone having diarrhea and scrambling for the toilet?

Sano mingled somewhat playfully among the gossipy onlookers.

...Just kidding.

Sano was well aware that someone had been harmed by the plague.

And in the end, he was buried in a place like a toilet.

After rubbing his fingers together inside his sleeve for a while, Sano stepped through the crowd and entered the restroom.

In one of the women's restroom stalls, a short-haired young woman, her eyes wide open and covered in blood, lay half-leaning against the wall. On the wall next to her head was an "S" drawn in blood.

Nearby, Inspector Megure, Wataru Takagi, and the four members of the Plague Gods were discussing something.

Well, the group of four now includes Kogoro Mouri.

Shortly after Sano and Ito Taka left, Conan and his two friends successfully ran into their target for the day—a group of young men and women playing clay shooting.

To be precise, it was two men and three women.

The two men and three women came here to watch the nightly fireworks show at the ice rink, based on their conversation.

The relationship between these people wasn't very good, and there were some hidden reasons behind it. In the end, they all found their own reasons to leave.

It wasn't until the fireworks show started that the three people, excluding the deceased and one other man, finally returned, but Suzuki Sonoko had already run to the restroom.

But she let out a scream.

When everyone turned around, they discovered that someone was dead.

Conan looked serious. Today, Sonoko Suzuki had dragged him and Ran Mouri here by force, just so they could see some handsome guys.

Unexpectedly, this led to a case.

After exhaling, Conan turned his gaze to the four suspects.

Among the two men and three women.

A short-haired woman was the deceased; a long-haired woman had a clear conflict with the deceased, and the "S" left by the deceased happened to be the first letter of the long-haired woman's surname; another woman wearing a headscarf; a man with a slightly round nose; and the last one, who also had a clear conflict with the deceased, and was also the only dark-skinned man who did not return to join the others when the fireworks show started.

The deceased was shot, or more precisely, killed by a shotgun.

The shotgun was carelessly tossed on the bathroom floor by the murderer; it belonged to the long-haired woman… Because they had just participated in clay shooting today, all of their guns were locked in the same locker, and they all knew the combination.

This renders even the nitrous oxide reaction test meaningless.

According to Sonoko Suzuki, who was outside the restroom at the time, the murderer ran out of the restroom the moment the fireworks show started. Although the man deliberately covered his face and body, it seems that among the four suspects, only the dark-skinned man who was not present at the time could have committed the crime.

They could rely on their experience of being a plague god.

Conan felt that no matter how he looked at it, the dark-skinned man didn't seem like the murderer.

"But Sonoko didn't see the sign on the toilet door that said it was under maintenance. She knocked on the toilet door. If the victim hadn't been murdered yet, why didn't she just ask her for help?"

"I think the killer probably shoved the gun directly into her mouth, making her too afraid to make a sound, until the fireworks show started before making the move."

"..."

Just as Inspector Megure was fretting, his gaze suddenly swept over a dark figure at the restroom door, then he turned sharply and asked, "Who are you?"

Inspector Megure's sudden question put Sano in the spotlight.

"...It's you?"

Ran Mouri and Sonoko Suzuki, the two best friends, had just recognized Sano when they suddenly realized that they didn't know how to address each other, and could only scratch their heads in confusion.

It's like wanting to speak but holding back, and holding back but wanting to speak again.

"What, you two know each other?"

Inspector Megure's expression softened slightly: "Are you involved in this case as well?"

To be precise, what Inspector Megure meant was whether Sano had any clues he could provide, regardless of whether they were useful or not.

No, not at all.

Sano walked into the restroom, circled around, and looked at the four suspects one by one before turning to Inspector Megure: "When I met them at the skating rink earlier, these people hadn't appeared yet... Of course, it's also possible that they appeared but didn't run into me."

figure?

Debut?